Tag Archives: fitness

5k run for Parkinsons UK

I did a charity run yesterday after seeing a flyer in one of the gyms that I use. The first time I’ve actually run an event like this with all the paraphernalia – timing chip for shoe, a number to pin to my shirt etc, etc. This one was run after dark, so we all were given a head torch as well.

It was quite an impressive event, a rather nice family, halloween atmosphere with lots of runners in costumes. There was a simultaneous 10k and 5k event with the 10k-ers running the same route a second time. It was all the way around the 2k long Holme Pierrepoint boating lake with a slight uphill diversion to get the final kilometer in. The up-and-back nature of the event meant you could see where other runners were in relation to you – the 10kers set off first and you eventually saw them turn the corner and start running down towards you. When I turned the corner myself there were a few minutes, and before long you could see the 10kers starting their second lap.

Here’s what it looked like in the start line as we all did warmups together:

5k Spooky Sprint

5k Spooky Sprint

5k Spooky Sprint

Certainly an impressive number of people there!

There was also a drone filming us as we set off so I will look forward to seeing the footage from that! I’ve never been filmed by a drone before, as far as I am aware.

In terms of my targets – my main one is always to see how far along I can get from the start without having to break into a walk, and this time I managed the first kilometer without too much of a struggle but didn’t continue to the second.

My final time was a bit of a disappointment and I know I didn’t pace myself correctly as I easily had enough energy for a final sprint the whole of the last 400m. My time according to the chip 41’52”, which is pretty dreadful actually. I had been hoping, and half-heartedly training, to beat my PB in a timed event of 35’52”. But six minutes slower! Oh dear! The results system helpfully adds I came in 223/265 runners and in my age and gender category (“senior” ! erk!) 36/39.

No worries, you can still sponsor me on my Just Giving page until 01/02/2015.

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My first parkrun!

A year ago, more or less, I wrote about parkrun, registered, got a barcode, and then prevaricated and didn’t get around to trying to run around the park for 5k.

Last Friday, I went and checked I could indeed run 5k around a park in under 50 mins and wouldn’t be the absolute slowest person there.

(If you’re interested, you can get the GPX for any parkrun on the “course” page of the parkrun website and convert it into a Runkeeper course using these intstructions.)

And this Saturday I got up early to be at the start line long before 9am and ran with the people there.

The email with the results just arrived and they’re here. I came 77th out of 92! Clicking through on my age group result, I see that of all 83 men aged 35-39 who have ever run Forest rec in the last year, only one has ever run it slower.

I’m actually pretty chuffed with the time, I didn’t think I could do anything like that. I also know that to improve, the next step is the easy to say, hard to do, “spend less time walking.”

Now, having got up early on a Saturday, must try extra hard not to waste the rest of the day.

Walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats for charity

Here’s a fun thing I am doing virtually with Fitbit and the internet: attempting a long distance walk largely within my classroom.

Towards the end of last year, people in the Fitbit UK facebook group pointed me at a charity group in which a bunch of people attempt to walk the length of the UK – 605 miles.

The group doesn’t mind at all how you do the miles – walk, run or zimmer frame, its description says – so long as you post periodically how you are doing.

Fitbit send me a weekly summary email so all I do is take that, convert KM to miles and post each week. The mail comes through on a Monday, and last week’s put me well over 100 miles already this year, largely done at work. That puts me kind beyond Bristol and in Wales already and suggests I will have done the whole walk by around June / July.

Whoever runs it posts regular status updates to tell walkers what milestone they have reached, along with a lovely photo from somewhere in the UK.

ALEX FOSTER at 110/605 miles you are outside Swansea in Killay; The village of Killay evolved as a direct result of the south Wales coal industry. There were a good number of mines in Killay, the Clyne valley and in the neighbouring village of Dunvant dating back as far as the 14th century. The largest company, but also one of the latest, to mine coal in the district was the Killan Colliery Company, which began operations in 1899.

Someone not much further forward – 161 miles – has just passed St Lawrence’s church in Ludlow and there are a lot of people in the group at various milestones in Shropshire at the minute. The first few people have already completed the race and there’s a significant minority crossing the border into Scotland already.

Better still, your modest annual sub also pays for them to post you a real postcard from time to time from where you have supposedly got to – I got one at the end of January from the English Riviera.

If you’re interested in something like this, there is another Facebook group for virtual runs.